"We are immensely proud to award our first students with the KAUST Discovery Scholarship," said Interim President Nadhmi Al-Nasr. "The scholarship program represents a critical step in the development of KAUST, whose ultimate success relies on the quality of our students and faculty. KAUST's vision has been validated by the talented, motivated and promising students who will make up the inaugural class of this historic institution. We hope that the 2008 scholarship cycle will yield another group of qualified students who will further diversify and enrich KAUST's student body."

Beginning immediately, the KAUST Discovery Scholarship will provide full tuition, a living stipend, book and computer allowances, and summer and career enrichment programs to students at their home institutions prior to the University's opening in September 2009. Upon graduation, these students will enter KAUST as master's degree students in September 2009 and 2010 and complete their studies on a fully funded scholarship.

The scholarship program is integral to building the University's intellectual capital. The program works in tandem with KAUST's research collaborations and Global Research Partnership that will support research centers and individual scientists around the globe. KAUST's Academic Excellence Alliance will enable leading research universities to recruit faculty to teach and complete research on the KAUST campus.

When at KAUST, scholarship recipients will be able to focus on any of four main areas of research: resources, energy and environment; biosciences and engineering; materials science and engineering; and applied mathematics and computational science. Students will pursue degrees in six fields of study: chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, materials science and engineering, biosciences and bioengineering, computational earth science and engineering, and applied mathematics and computer science.

Students may apply for a KAUST Discovery Scholarship directly, or they may be nominated by a professor or administrator at their institution. All applicants must complete their online application and send or attach all required documents by May 11, 2008. Applications, scholarship criteria and additional information can be found on the KAUST Web site: http://www.kaust.edu.sa.

About KAUST
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is being built in Saudi Arabia as an international, graduate-level research university dedicated to inspiring a new age of scientific achievement in the Kingdom, across the region and around the globe. As an independent, merit-based institution, KAUST will employ many of the best practices from leading research universities and enable top researchers from around the globe and across all cultures to work together to solve challenging scientific and technological issues. The KAUST global research and education network will support diverse talents, both on its campus and at other premier universities and research institutions, through collaborative research agreements, grants, and student scholarship programs. The core campus, located on more than 36 million square meters on the Red Sea at Thuwal, is set to open in September 2009. For more information about KAUST, visit http://www.kaust.edu.sa.